Pasar al contenido principal

page search

Biblioteca LivestockPlus: The sustainable intensification of forage-based agricultural systems to improve livelihoods and ecosystem services in the tropics

LivestockPlus: The sustainable intensification of forage-based agricultural systems to improve livelihoods and ecosystem services in the tropics

LivestockPlus: The sustainable intensification of forage-based agricultural systems to improve livelihoods and ecosystem services in the tropics

Resource information

Date of publication
Diciembre 2015
Resource Language
ISBN / Resource ID
handle:10568/68840
Pages
48
License of the resource

As global demand for livestock products (such as meat, milk, and eggs) is expected to double by 2050, necessary

increases to future production must be reconciled with negative environmental impacts that livestock cause. This

paper describes the LivestockPlus concept and demonstrates how the sowing of improved forages can lead to the

sustainable intensification of mixed crop–forage–livestock–tree systems in the tropics by producing multiple social,

economic, and environmental benefits. Sustainable intensification not only improves the productivity of tropical

forage-based systems but also reduces the ecological footprint of livestock production and generates a diversity of

ecosystem services (ES), such as improved soil quality and reduced erosion, sedimentation, and greenhouse gas

(GHG) emissions. Integrating improved grass and legume forages into mixed production systems (crop–livestock,

tree–livestock, crop–tree–livestock) can restore degraded lands and enhance system resilience to drought and

waterlogging associated with climate change. When properly managed tropical forages accumulate large amounts

of carbon in soil, fix atmospheric nitrogen (legumes), inhibit nitrification in soil and reduce nitrous oxide emissions

(grasses), and reduce GHG emissions per unit livestock product.

The LivestockPlus concept is defined as the sustainable intensification of forage-based systems, which is based

on three interrelated intensification processes: genetic intensification – the development and use of superior

grass and legume cultivars for increased livestock productivity; ecological intensification – the development and

application of improved farm and natural resource management practices; and socio-economic intensification

– the improvement of local and national institutions and policies, which enable refinements of technologies

and support their enduring use. Increases in livestock productivity will require coordinated efforts to develop

supportive government, non-government organization, and private sector policies that foster investments and

fair market compensation for both the products and ES provided. Effective research-for-development efforts that

promote agricultural and environmental benefits of forage-based systems can contribute towards implemention of

LivestockPlus across a variety of geographic, political, and socio-economic contexts.

Share on RLBI navigator
NO

Authors and Publishers

Author(s), editor(s), contributor(s)

Peters, M.
Castro, A.
White, D.
Fisher, M.
Miles, J.
Blümmel, M.
Bolliger, Adrian
Bungenstab, D.J.
Tapasco, J.
Maass, B.L.
Tiemann, T.
Villanueva, C.
Rincón, A.
Cuchillo-Hilario, Mario
Cardoso, J.A.
Arango, Jacobo
Rosenstock, Todd S.
Subbarao, G.
Chirinda, Ngonidzashe
Worthington, Margaret
Jenet, Andreas
Schmidt, A.
Lefroy, R.
Fahrney, K.
Guimaraes, E.
Chacón, M.
Rudel, T.
Hyman, Glenn
Paul, Birthe
Notenbaert, An Maria Omer
Tohme, Joseph M
Rao, Idupulapati M.
Cook, Simon E.
Lascano, C.E.
Herrero, Mario
Douxchamps, Sabine
Searchinger, T.
Ayarza, M.A.
Schultze-Kraft, Rainer
Vivas, Nelson
Hoek, Rein van der

Data Provider